Miami football had to sweat a bit, but eventually the Hurricanes took care of business Saturday vs. ACC rival Duke and former head coach Manny Diaz. The 53-31 win should cement its status before the first College Football Playoff rankings are unveiled.
The No. 5 Hurricanes (9-0) trailed the Blue Devils (6-3) 28-17 early in the third quarter, but Heisman hopeful Cam Ward and company turned up the intensity after that, helped by some timely turnovers by opposing quarterback Maalik Murphy. The final nail in the coffin came via a long touchdown by Xavier Restrepo, which tied the all-time Miami record for receptions held by Mike Harley and broke Santana Moss’s receiving yards record.
Ward ended the day 25 of 41 for 400 yards and five touchdowns, the third time he’s hit that yardage marker this season and the second time he’s had that many TDs. He also fumbled and threw an interception. Restrepo led all receivers with 146 yards on eight catches with three touchdowns.
Damien Martinez had 11 carries for 66 yards, while Mark Fletcher Jr. ran 12 times for 65 yards and a touchdown a day after his father’s funeral.
Murphy had a strong game overall, going 25 of 41 for 325 yards and three touchdowns, but the three interceptions and fumble were costly. Running back Peyton Jones had 132 total yards and two TDs, while Sahmir Hagans led Duke with nine catches for 139 yards and a score.
The Hurricanes improve to 9-0 (5-0 in ACC) while the Blue Devils fall to 6-3 (2-3). Next up for Miami is Georgia Tech on Saturday.
Miami forced a turnover on the second straight possession, this time getting Maalik Murphy to fumble. It was recovered by Akheem Mesidor, giving the Hurricanes the ball at Duke’s 35. Mario Cristobal kept Cam Ward in the game, and he nearly got his sixth touchdown of the game as tight end Riley Williams took a pass 29 yards down to the 5-yard line. But then Ward was hit in the back by a blitzing Terry Moore, leading to a fumble that gave Duke the ball back.
It’s probably best if Ward sat the rest of this one out. He has an even 400 yards with five TDs.
Score: Miami 53, Duke 31 | 2:00 in 4th quarter
Maalik Murphy threw his third interception of the game, this one to Jadais Richard. The junior injured his leg at the end of his return, and he was helped off the field. He was seen getting onto a cart heading to the locker room.
Sam Brown Jr. nearly gave Cam Ward his sixth touchdown of the day, but he was ruled out at the 1-yard line. Mark Fletcher Jr. finished it off with a touchdown, a day after the team came to Fort Lauderdale to attend his father’s funeral.
Score: Miami 53, Duke 31 | 5:37 in 4th quarter
Cam Ward found Xavier Restrepo on a slant that the receiver took 66 yards for a touchdown, tying Mike Harley’s Miami record for career receptions and breaking Reggie Wayne’s record for career receiving yards.
The catch was Restrepo’s 182nd with the Hurricanes and gave him 2,573 receiving yards in his career. He has eight receptions for 146 yards and three TDs today.
Ward has 345 passing yards and five touchdowns, his second game this season with that many.
Score: Miami 46, Duke 31 | 7:36 in 4th quarter
Miami held Duke to a three-and-out thanks largely to a swarm of tacklers taking down Star Thomas on second down. After getting the ball back, Sam Brown Jr. made a nice move to get 20 yards. Xavier Restrepo nearly set both the school receptions and yardage records on a deep ball that got knocked down.
Then Cam Ward made a terrible decision throwing across his body while falling out of bounds. The jump ball was intercepted by Chandler Rivers, who got a pick in a third straight game.
Duke nearly gave it back on third down as both Omar Frederique and Francisco Mauigoa had a shot at, but it fell incomplete. The Hurricanes took over after a punt.
Score: Miami 39, Duke 31 | 8:21 in 4th quarter
Duke tried a squib kick that Elija Lofton brought back to midfield. Then Cam Ward struck, unleashing a gorgeous pass to Jacobly George for his fourth touchdown pass of the day.
Ward is now 20 of 34 for 259 yards and has his fourth four-TD game of the season. George has 74 yards on three catches. Mario Cristobal opted to kick the extra point to go up by 8.
Score: Miami 39, Duke 31 | 12:56 in 4th quarter
Duke isn’t done yet, getting the ball near midfield in just two plays. Then Jordan Moore made an unreal one-handed stretch grab to get the ball inside the red zone as the third quarter ended.
Duke failed on a jet sweep that Que’Sean Brown tried to pass, but Tyler Baron was penalized for a facemask, giving the Blue Devils first-and-goal. But three straight incompletions brought out Todd Pelino for a 24-yard field goal. Murphy is 19 of 31 for 278 yards and 3 TDs, while Sahmir Hagans has seven catches for 123 yards.
Score: Miami 32, Duke 31 | 13:41 in 4th quarter
Maalik Murphy threw his second interception on a deep ball when OJ Frederique Jr. made a great play to get into position against Jordan Moore. He ran the ball back to the Duke 38.
Cam Ward went back to work quickly, but a slant to Jacolby George that appeared at first to be a touchdown was ruled incomplete. Replay showed the ball slip through George’s hands and hit the turf. After a Xavier Restrepo 6-yard slant, Ward handed to tight end Elija Lofton for a touchdown.
Ward is up to 210 passing yards, and the Hurricanes are back in front. Restrepo is one catch shy of tying Mike Harley’s school record.
Score: Miami 32, Duke 28 | 3:08 in 3rd quarter
After Chris Johnson Jr. returned the kickoff to the Miami 31-yard line, Cam Ward hit Xavier Restrepo with a 20-yard catch-and-run. Mark Fletcher Jr. bulldozed his way 16 yards, and Duke safety Terry Moore was injured on the play. Restrepo couldn’t haul in a 30-yard bomb, but Ward did keep the chains moving with a slant to Jacolby George, who then made an incredible catch on the sideline on the next play.
Ward hurried the ‘Canes to the line and threw a quick 3-yard touchdown pass to Restrepo. He then ran up the middle for the 2-point conversion. Restrepo is two catches and 46 yards shy of school records, and he’s nine yards short of Reggie Wayne for second.
Score: Duke 28, Miami 25 | 7:16 in 3rd quarter
Duke continued to move at will against the Miami defense to open the second half. Maalik Murphy completed three straight passes, including a 34-yard gain to Sahmir Hagans to get the ball to the Hurricanes’ 15. Manny Diaz opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the 6-yard line, and Jordan Moore was once again wide open underneath for a walk-in touchdown.
The Blue Devils marched down the field for a 10-play, 4:57 drive to widen the gap. Miami is officially on upset alert.
Score: Duke 28, Miami 17 | 10:03 in 3rd quarter
After a 6-yard run by Damien Martinez, Cam Ward threw two incompletions, including one that Chandler Rivers knocked out of Isaiah Horton’s hands. It was Miami’s third three-and-out in their last four possessions of the half. They had three all season entering today, with two coming in the opener vs. Florida.
After an early penalty, Duke ended up running out the clock in the first half. They’ll receive the kickoff to start the third quarter.
Score: Duke 21, Miami 17 | Halftime
Maalik Murphy started 1 of 6 for 6 yards and an interception, but ever since, he’s been on fire with four passes for 20 or more yards. Miami helped the Blue Devils down the field with three penalties for 40 yards. Sahmir Hagans took a bubble screen to the 13-yard line, then left the field after a punishing hit by Francisco Mauigoa. The linebacker went to punch the ball but ended up punching Hagans’ helmet instead. No penalty was called.
Duke has gotten success using Miami’s ravenous defense against it. After some misdirection, Murphy hit Peyton Jones on another pass underneath that let the running back scamper easily into the end zone. Murphy is now 11 of 18 for 159 yards, while Jones has 94 total yards and both a rushing and receiving TD.
Score: Duke 21, Miami 17 | 1:47 in 2nd quarter
The Hurricanes responded to Duke’s score with some tough runs by Damien Martinez and Mark Fletcher Jr. Cam Ward seemed to audible to a QB draw on third-and-8, and it was a great call, as he plunged up the exposed middle of the field for a first down past midfield.
Ward couldn’t hit Isaiah Horton on two straight slants, but the second drew a pass interference by Chandler Rivers. A miscommunication with center Zach Carpenter nearly led to a fumble at the 5-yard line, but the Hurricanes managed to get a 29-yard Andres Borregales field goal. It was a 12-play, 6:24 drive that stalled in the red zone.
Score: Miami 17, Duke 14 | 4:51 in 2nd quarter
Duke is starting to get things going on offense. After a second straight three-and-out by Miami, Maalik Murphy uncorked a gorgeous 40-yard pass that fell into the waiting arms of Peyton Jones at the Hurricanes’ 32. Then on third-and-5, Murphy dropped a pass under the flat to a wide open Sahmir Hagans, who sprinted in for a 27-yard touchdown.
Jones has 78 total yards, and it’s a new ballgame.
Score: Miami 14, Duke 14 | 11:15 in 2nd quarter
Duke finally saw success on offense after Miami’s next punt. The Blue Devils had three straight big plays: a catch-and-run for 21 yards from Maalik Murphy to Sahmir Hagans, a 27-yard burst up the middle from running back Peyton Jones and an incredible sideline catch by Jordan Moore to put the ball at Miami’s 8-yard line. Jones finished it off with a touchdown run, and Duke’s hurry-up offense showed what it can do.
Score: Miami 14, Duke 7 | 2:28 in 1st quarter
Duke’s offense hasn’t gotten anything going early on. Miami held them to a three-and-out, then after downing a punt at the 5-yard line, quarterback Maalik Murphy opted to go long. The pass was easily grabbed by safety Mishael Powell, and he gave the Hurricanes the ball at the Duke 45.
Mark Fletcher Jr., playing a day after his father’s funeral, had a few 10-yard runs, and Cam Ward finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Cam McCormick, playing in his ninth season of college football. Xavier Restrepo is up to four catches and 51 yards, making him four catches and 69 yards short of school records.
Score: Miami 14, Duke 0 | 5:04 in 1st quarter
Miami took the opening kickoff and got on the board early. Cam Ward added to his Heisman highlight reel with a 35-yard scrambling bomb to Xavier Restrepo. Jacolby George was also in the area.
Restrepo already has two catches for 45 yards. He’s six catches from Mike Harley’s school record and 75 yards from Santana Moss’ record.
Score: Miami 7, Duke 0 | 11:53 in 1st quarter
“I don’t know how many hip thrusts Cam Ward will do after touchdowns,” Pat McAfee said to guest picker Keegan-Michael Key, joking about the famous touchdown celebration skit from “Key & Peele.” But everybody on ESPN’s College GameDay panel picked Miami to beat Duke. Lee Corso did seem to imply the Hurricanes would win by only an Andres Borregales field goal.
Miami quarterback Cam Ward is one of the favorites to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy, along with Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter and Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel. Here are the players with the best odds to win the Heisman according to BetMGM:
Senior wide receiver Xavier Restrepo enters Saturday’s game with 174 receptions and 2,427 receiving yards, both nearing Miami records.
Miami career reception leaders
Miami career receiving yards leaders
Duke head coach Manny Diaz was head coach at Miami for three seasons. He was hired in 2019 and went 21-15. Miami fired him to bring in Mario Cristobal, then the head coach at Oregon. Here’s a look at Diaz’s time with the Hurricanes:
Miami defensive back Damari Brown has been out with a lower-body injury since the season-opener vs. Florida.
Duke tight end Nicky Dalmolin and Jeremiah Halsey are reportedly out for the season. Running back Jaquez Moore has been out since September 28 vs. North Carolina.
The Hurricanes are wearing green jerseys and pants with the traditional white helmets today.
Miami vs. Duke will broadcast nationally on ABC in Week 10 of the 2024 college football season. Joe Tessitore and Jesse Palmer will call the game from the booth at Hard Rock Stadium, with Katie George reporting from the sidelines. Streaming options for the game include ESPN+ and Fubo, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
The 2024 Hurricanes boast five preseason All-ACC players, the most of any team. They are led by quarterback Cam Ward, a Washington State transfer and the preseason ACC Player of the Year. The other selections: receiver Xavier Restrepo, defensive end Rueben Bain Jr., linebacker Francisco Mauigoa and kicker Andres Borregales.
The 2024 Blue Devils are led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Maalik Murphy (1,796 yards, 17 touchdowns) and graduate running back Star Thomas (681 yards, 5 touchdowns).
James Fragoza, College Football Network: Miami 37, Duke 13
“Murphy has really struggled to connect in the intermediate parts of the field, forcing the offense into third-down situations that it’s unable to convert (30.1%, 127th). The scheme’s quick pace of play will negate some of Miami’s pass-rush prowess, but it’s difficult to see a path to success, especially with the ground game averaging a paltry 3.5 yards per attempt.”
Game lines and odds from BetMGM as of Friday:
Weather.com predicts 83 degrees with mostly cloudy skies at kickoff in Miami Gardens. Winds are expected to blow out of the east at 13 mph. There is about a 25% chance of rain.
*- ACC game
*- ACC game
(This story has been updated to add new information and photos.)
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